hindu.com,April 15, 2008.
Oslo (PTI): India will play the "most decisive" role in the peace process in Sri Lanka being the "best-placed regional power" to help the island nation, a top Norwegian envoy has said.

Norway's special envoy to Colombo Jon Hanssen-Bauer said in an interview to PTI that India was to be the "main partner" for Sri Lanka in the future, and that Oslo was in regular touch with New Delhi over the issue of peace process in its neighbouring country.

Norway had borkered the now-defunct ceasefire treaty between the Sri Lankan government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2002.

"India is the main neighbour to Sri Lanka and they are always taking a keen interest in helping Sri Lanka. I think India will play the most decisive role in the peace process," he said on the sidelines of a Conference on Peace and Reconciliation in South Asia, organised here by Art of Living Foundation of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
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Associated Press,Tue April 15, 2008 08:41 EDT .
BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI - Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) An international advisory panel said Tuesday that Sri Lanka - 's government lacks the will to properly investigate alleged human rights abuses committed during a surge in fighting between the military and Tamil rebels in the island's north. The panel added that Sri Lanka - lacks an effective program to protect victims and witnesses.

Attorney General C.R. De Silva said the panel's decision to resign and its public statements were made with ``ulterior motives.''

He said the role of the IIGEP was to observe the functioning of the commission, and that it had no mandate to comment on the overall situation of human rights or law enforcement.

Meanwhile, fighting continued between government troops and Tamil rebels in the north.

Scattered battles across the region Monday killed seven rebels and two soldiers, the military said.

Fierce fighting over the weekend killed at least 81 rebels and 11 soldiers, according to the military.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not immediately be reached for comment.

It was not possible to independently confirm the numbers because journalists are barred from the conflict zone. Both sides commonly exaggerate their enemy's casualties while underplaying their own.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, who were marginalized for decades by governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.Discuss this story

TOI,April 15, 2008.
CHENNAI: Did Priyanka Vadra recently meet Nalini Sriharan, one of those involved in the assassination of her father Rajiv Gandhi?

A city lawyer filed an application under the Right to Information Act (RTI) last week seeking information on a purported meeting on March 19 between Priyanka and Nalini at the special prison for women in Vellore. On March 19, Priyanka was, indeed, in Vellore to pay obeisance at the Sripuram temple there.

The RTI applicant, D Raj Kumar, has sought the prison superintendent’s response to a number of queries: Under which legal provision was Priyanka permitted to meet Nalini, who accompanied her, how long did the meeting last, and what did they talk about?

Nalini, who is 43 now, was given the death sentence by a special court for being involved in Rajiv Gandhi's assassination on May 21, 1991, in Sriperumbudur.
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Many facing displacement in Mannarhindu,April 15.
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s military on Monday claimed that troops destroyed eight LTTE bunkers and killed five Tiger cadres in heavy fighting in the north...

Lankan Tamils reject Karunanidhi’s diktat on Tamil New Yearnewindpress,April 15.
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Tamils, who are known for their orthodoxy, have summarily rejected Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s bid to change the Tamil New Year from Chittirai Thirunaal (April 13) to Thai Pongal (January 14), saying it is unwarranted on astronomical, historical and cultural grounds...

Tamil movement held to accountNational Post,April 15.
TORONTO -The World Tamil Movement headquarters is a red brick industrial building on a strip of auto body and garment shops a block from Highway 401...

Over 25000 People Face Displacement From LTTE-held Areascom,14th of April 2008.
Over 25,000 people, including 6,000 students, in the LTTE-held areas in the north-western Mannar district face displacement as the advancing government troops and the rebels are locked in fierce fighting, official sources here said Monday...

Sri Lanka conflict returning to citiesthestar.com,Apr 14, 2008 04:30 AM .
COLOMBO–A senior Sri Lankan minister killed in a suspected Tamil Tiger rebel suicide blast has been buried amid certainty that the country has entered one of its worst phases of conflict – with the fight returning to big cities...

Buddhists in Sri Lanka want Marian shrine restoredcwnews.com,Apr. 14.
Colombo, Apr. 14, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Buddhist leaders in Sri Lanka are encouraging their Catholic counterparts to bring a cherished statue of the Virgin Mary back to the famous shrine at Madhu.
The image of Our Lady of Madhu, which has drawn pilgrims for over 400 years, was removed for safekeeping earlier this month, after the shrine was hit by artillery fire...